An Introduction to Fairy Tales Classic and Post- Modern: Walt has nothing to do with it
Familiar Tale Types What do we know about them? Snow White Little Red Riding Hood Sleeping Beauty Cinderella Little Red Riding Hood Rumpelstiltskin Beauty and the Beast
Their Origination Late medieval / early Renaissance Created for adult audiences Not written for children until 19 th century Didactic literature Written by aristocratic, intelligent, educated authors NOT part of an oral tradition
Famous Classic Authors Straparola (Italian) Madame d’Aulnoy (French) Brothers Grimm (German) Hans Christian Andersen (Danish) Lewis Carroll (British) Oscar Wilde (British)
Famous Post-Modern Authors Angela Carter Robert Coover Francesca Lia Block Anne Sexton Margaret Atwood
Common Motifs: Yes, you SHOULD be writing this down Threes Evil women/queens Sibling rivalry (evil stepsisters) Transformations Morals Marriages Extreme beauty / extreme ugliness Intuitive animals Unwarranted, violent punishments
More motifs Religious overtones Helpless females Dominating males Fairy godmothers Happily ever after Impulsivity Focus on material wealth
Post-Modern Retellings Different points of view Interior monologues Before the “Once upon a time” After the “Happily ever after” Real-world problems Temporal Distortion Unhappy endings